In 2007, the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) Committee on the Future of Emergency Care in the United States Health System released three volumes describing their findings. The IOM described a system that is stretched thin and unable to appropriately respond to the demands placed upon it. Recognizing the precarious state of the emergency care system in the US, the IOM recommended the development of "regionalized, coordinated, and accountable emergency care systems throughout the country". Based on this report, the emergency medicine community identified priority items within the IOM report and now seeks to address the organization of the emergency care system. The conference described here titled "Beyond Regionalization: Integrated Networks of Emergency Care" will develop a research agenda to keep pace with the development of innovations in emergency care delivery. The conference will be held on June 2, 2010 in Phoenix, Arizona preceding the annual conference of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine. Consensus Conferences sponsored by the journal Academic Emergency Medicine are well recognized within the emergency medicine community to organize the academic community around an issue of importance within emergency care. A full journal issue of Academic Emergency Medicine will be devoted to the conference topic and will publish both conference proceedings and peer-reviewed topically relevant research manuscripts. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This conference titled "Beyond Regionalization: Integrated Networks of Emergency Care", sponsored by the journal Academic Emergency Medicine will develop a research agenda to support the Institute of Medicine's vision of regionalized, coordinated, and accountable emergency care systems. By examining emergency care delivery innovations as they develop, emergency care researchers will help to shape more efficient and effective emergency care systems. Given the reliance of all Americans on emergency care when faced with time-sensitive illness, we believe the goals of this conference have direct relevance to the health of the public.